We took the lead on 12 minutes thanks to Guro Reiten who found the far corner with a powerful left-footed strike. Sam Kerr headed home our second on 25 minutes before going off through injury, and her replacement Pernille Harder netted our third with her first involvement on 33 minutes.

With five minutes until the break, our defensive midfield pairing got their names on the scoresheet with a quick-fire double. Sophie Ingle and Jessie Fleming found the target from similar positions to give the Blues a commanding lead at the break.

There were changes aplenty in the second half as the Blues made full use of the squad at their disposal. Harder added a sixth with 10 minutes to play, before Erin Cuthbert scored our seventh to round off a resounding victory and secure another valuable three points in our challenge for the title.

The selection

Emma Hayes made five changes to the side who began the 2-1 victory over Liverpool on Wednesday evening. Zecira Musovic replaced Ann-Katrin Berger between the sticks, while Maren Mjelde partnered captain Magdalena Eriksson at the heart of defence.

Ingle and Fleming formed the holding midfield duo. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and Reiten provided the width from the flanks, with Jelena Cankovic was deployed behind Kerr, who spearheaded the attack.

First blood Blues

On a gloriously sunny afternoon at Kingsmeadow, the players gathered around the centre circle prior to kick-off for the national anthem to mark the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III and the Queen Consort. We got the game underway in our traditional blue strip, while Everton wore all pink.

Everton began the game on the front foot and enjoyed an early spell of possession, but the Blues defence stood firm in the face of this early pressure. With 10 minutes on the clock, we started to settle into a rhythm with some purposeful runs in behind thwarted by the offside flag.

On 12 minutes, our patience was rewarded when we broke the deadlock courtesy of Reiten. Rytting Kaneryd drifted infield from the right, picking out the Norwegian on the edge of the box, who opened up her body and lashed the ball into the far corner with her favoured left foot.

Having taken the lead, the tempo of the game slowed as Everton looked to regain some control on proceedings. Reiten turned provider with a lovely aerial pass which set Kerr on her way, but the Australian’s first touch took her away from goal and she could only find the side netting with her effort.

High five

With 25 minutes played, Kerr’s perseverance paid off when she doubled our advantage. Niamh Charles got to the by-line on the left side, standing up a perfectly weighted cross for Kerr who converted a bullet header at the back post to give us a two-goal cushion.

After half an hour, we were forced into an early change with Kerr coming off through injury and Pernille Harder entering the fray. It took seconds for the Dane to get in on the scoring act when she netted our third of the match with her first touch.

Reiten drilled a low cross from the left towards the penalty spot where Harder was lurking, the forward guided the ball expertly beyond Brosnan at the near post and made an instant impact to grab her first goal since returning from injury.

Two minutes before half-time, we netted our fourth goal of the evening courtesy of Ingle. The Welsh captain saw the ball fall kindly to her on the edge of the box and her right-footed effort was perfectly placed into the bottom corner.

Before the interval, there was time for another and it was Jessie Fleming who got in on the scoring act. A well worked move down the right side resulted in the Canadian firing home a fifth to give the Blues a 5-0 lead at half-time.

Fresh impetus

Before the restart, the Blues made a double change with Lauren James and Alsu Abdullina replacing Reiten and Eve Perisset. James took up her position on the left-hand side while Abdullina came in at left-back with Charles reverting to the right.

James had looked lively since her introduction, first seeing a shot saved by Brosnan after a dazzling run before picking out Harder who headed wide of the mark. There were more goals in the game for the Blues who were equally mindful of protecting their clean sheet at the other end.

On the hour mark, we continued to probe in search of further goals as Rytting Kaneryd came close to adding a sixth but miscued her effort having been teed up by James. Our fourth change of the night was in the offing with Cuthbert replacing Cankovic for the final half an hour.

There were plenty of fresh legs on the field with Everton looking to steady the ship, while we went in search of a sixth goal. Jess Carter replaced Charles, who had put in another impressive shift, in our fifth and final substitution of the night.

Seventh heaven

With 10 minutes remaining, Harder notched her second goal of the evening after some more good work in the wide areas. A drilled cross from the left found the Dane who clinically fired home from close range for our sixth of the night.

It had been a devastating display in front of goal from the Blues, while our defensive solidity could not be overlooked. Mjelde and Eriksson had been solid in the centre while our full-backs were equally efficient in both attack and defence.

In stoppage time, there was time for a seventh with Cuthbert picking out the bottom corner from the edge of the box. The referee brought an end to proceedings to round off a good night at the office which sees the Blues move into second place in the league table.

What’s next?

It’s another quick turnaround before our third home league game in quick succession with Leicester City the visitors to Kingsmeadow on Wednesday 10 May.

This match will kick-off at 7pm (UK time) and for supporters who cannot attend, this fixture will be available to watch live on the FA Player.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Musovic; Perisset (Abdullina 46), Mjelde, Eriksson, Charles (Carter 72); Ingle, Fleming; Reiten (James 46); Cankovic (Cuthbert 62), Rytting Kaneryd; Kerr (Harder 30)
Unused Subs: Berger, Leupolz.
Scorers: Reiten (12), Kerr (25), Harder (33, 80), Ingle (43), Fleming (45), Cuthbert (90)

Everton (4-3-3): Brosnan; Veje (S. Holmgaard 53), Finnigan, Bjorn, Sevecke; K. Holmgaard (Christiansen 53) Wheeler, Bennison; Sorensen, Snoeijs (Maier 69) Galli.
Unused Subs: Ramsey, Stevenik, Wilding.

Referee: Lisa Benn